Foraging Each Other
by shellbell0944
Summary: Galeniss one-shots for an Everthorne challenge the week of Valentine's Day. 7 stories with 7 different themes: hunting partners, schooling, family, the Hob, Reaping Day/the Hunger Games, mining, and Valentine's Day.
1. Foraging Each Other

**AN: Submission #1 for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "hunting partners." Check them out at #promptingeverthorne.**

**Summary: **Katniss and Gale don't take to each other right away in the woods. Reserved and reluctant in everything, they're about as stubbornly independent as can be. But when independence gives way to unity, can they figure out what they are to each other? And can one mistake alter everything?

**Foraging Each Other**

Katniss waits by Gale's snare the next day to make good on their agreement. It's 7 and he's not there. His words drift through her head. _Stealing is punishable by death_. Surely he wouldn't turn her in would he? He seemed to agree pretty quickly to help each other. Maybe that wasn't a good thing after all.

The sun is rising and so is her impatience. She finds herself wishing she knew more about him, even if just to know if she can trust him or rely on him. Just as Katniss turns to the forest and starts walking away she hears a whistle. She whips around and sees Gale walking towards her.

"Didn't think I was coming?" he asks.

"We said 7," she replies.

"We said about 7," Gale says nonchalantly.

She purses her lips. He's still late and it irritates her. "Ready?"

"Are you mad at me?" he asks. He doesn't want to start things off in anger.

"No," she says coolly.

He examines her expression, knowing she's lying to him. "You're mad because I'm a little late."

Katniss wonders how he can read her emotions so easily and quickly. She registers that she's staring at him, so she shakes herself out of her thoughts and holds out the oversized bow for him to practice with today.

He takes hold of it but she doesn't release it. Gale holds himself back from laughing at the tiny 12 year old in front of him, so puny looking yet so unmistakably fierce. He could snatch it from her in an instant. Sensing her internal battle, he examines the bow and notices carvings along the limbs. It's in fine condition even though he can tell it's been used often. There are too many random scratches in the wood. It's special to her, or valuable at least, he gets that.

Katniss lets out the breath she's been holding in and releases her grip on the handle. Gale doesn't say anything, just looks her in the eyes and tries to convey that she can trust him to give it back later.

They start walking into the forest and he's about to ask if she's hungry, but that's a stupid question. Of course she is. She's borderline starving, as he is. "Come here," he says and leads her to one of his lifelines. It's a small grouping of blackberry bushes where the sunlight cuts between the tall trees. Maybe one day he will show her the area where the blackberries stretch out like a field, twining vines twinkling with fruit.

"Blackberries," she says in wonder. She must have not found any blackberry bushes in here yet.

"I like these," she admits.

"Me too," he says.

They glance at each other as they pick the ripe ones, and know that something has occurred between them. It's small, nearly imperceptible, but still there. They've given each other something. This could work. This could be their system.

As the months go by they meet everyday. Their meeting places change from peculiar looking trees, to the blueberry bush they almost trampled one day, to large rocks with interesting colors or shapes. Their favorite meeting place is the newest rock they found. Both of them can fit on it and admire the hills and valleys rising and falling beyond the district. It's the best vantage point they've encountered.

"Sometimes I don't want to go back," he admits to her one day, when she's sitting beside him on the rock. It would be considered treason if a Peacekeeper heard him say that, but here it's safe, as long as she doesn't report him.

"Sometimes I wish there were no districts," she says quietly. He looks at her for a long time. She's treasonous too. He nods that he understands.

They learn each other's skills intentionally, and learn about each other unintentionally. More months pass and he's getting pretty good at shooting. She hasn't quite picked up snares yet, but she tries so hard that he doesn't tell her.

"Who carved these markings?" Gale asks.

"My father," she answers after a few seconds.

"Did he teach you how to fire these off?" he points to her pack of arrows.

"Yeah, he was a great shot."

"So when I'm a great shot, will you trade me for a bow?" he asks. It's not the first time he's asked this. It's almost become a running joke between the two of them. He forgets all about his question when he sees her smile. It's the first time she's done that. He's making progress with her, but he's too stunned to return the smile. She looks away.

Katniss changes the topic. "Do you have brothers or sisters?" It seems to her that he needs more food than she needs for her family, but they haven't talked about it. She remembers the family he was with on stage after their fathers died, but doesn't want to ask if they're all still alive. It wouldn't be uncommon if one of them had starved to death, especially considering their circumstances.

"My mom and three younger siblings," he replies.

Katniss quietly lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm the oldest too," she tells him.

"How many siblings?"

"Just one, my sister."

"I have a sister too. She's a terror," he laughs. "The other two are brothers. You can meet them sometime…if you want," he offers.

"You can meet Prim too," she says.

"Prim." He says it like he's memorizing it.

Time passes swiftly in the woods where they are together everyday. They hunt down animals, gather berries and roots, and learn tidbits about each other, always careful to give and take, take and give. This is their bond, their covenant with each other. Neither owes the other in hunting or information.

After a year of this routine Katniss is waiting on their rock after school. She couldn't find him after the bell rang, so she thought maybe he was already here. He wasn't and after an hour he still isn't. She's tired of waiting so she hunts and checks and resets his snares, thinking maybe he is sick. She didn't see him at school so it's a logical thought. She only gets a rabbit from his snares and a squirrel from hunting.

Katniss knocks on the Hawthorne's door afterwards. Hazelle opens it and seems surprised that she's not with Gale. Now they're both confused. "I thought he might be sick," Katniss says in an asking tone. She hands Hazelle the rabbit from Gale's snare.

"No, I thought he was with you," Hazelle says with a smile. "Well, I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Thank you for bringing this by though."

The next morning Katniss barely enters the school building before overhearing whispers about Gale. She doesn't want to slyly follow the two catty girls who are talking about him, but they have information she wants.

"-Did you hear about Gale and Batris?

-No, who's Batris?

-The pretty blonde one from a couple grades up.

-Oh. _Her_.

-Thom saw them together.

-Like together together? .

-Yeah. He said they were making out.

-When?!

-Yesterday.

-Wow.

-I know…she's so lucky."

Katniss pulls her hands into fists. That's why he ditched her? The gossip mill churns all day with rumors about Gale's make out session. Each whisper brings a fresh sting to the aching, open wound inside her. She doesn't need to know that he made out with her between the lockers, or that it lasted "forever," or he's probably dating Batris now, or even worse that people are wondering if Katniss might be jealous of Batris. She's involved now. Great. She prefers being unseen and ignored.

Madge notices that Katniss is upset and wonders if she's jealous. Katniss is, but because Gale missed a day of hunting. Now she's not sure if he'll keep skipping hunting for _other activities, _and now he owes her: she hunted for them and brought his family food. She doesn't like them not being in balance. It throws off their system. Funny how one day can tip the scales on their arrangement.

If Gale comes to the woods that afternoon she would never know, because she completely avoids their meeting place and hunts further into the valley than they've ever been. It's dangerous being alone. Gale doesn't have her back and this is new territory, she knows it's not a great idea, but she's too frustrated to care.

It's the worst day hunting all year. She only hits one squirrel all afternoon, again, and forgetting how far she is from fence, she leaves too late to make it back before dark. She jogs back to the best of her ability in the dark.

The howls of wild dogs in the area propel her legs forward. Faster, ignore the burn. Faster, there are a lot of howls. Faster, she's utterly alone. They smell her. Katniss senses this, and that they're drawing near. In a panic she takes her lone squirrel out and tosses it behind her, hoping they will stop for the squirrel instead of pursuing her. She's sprinting now. Brushes scratch up her face, and roots catch her feet. She stumbles and hurts her ankle, but she picks herself up and keeps going. The howls dissipate but her fright drives her forward regardless.

The stars are shining in their full glory by the time she reaches the fence. Gale's there, inside the fence. She huffs, irritated that he's there and they're going to have to see each other and speak after the worst day she's had in a long time. She doesn't want to see him. That's why she avoided him at school and in the woods. She wishes he wasn't there to witness her distress. Part of her holds him entirely accountable for all the agitation she felt today, while the other part reminds her that she made her own choices.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Gale warns. "Stop!" The look of pure fear on her face is alarming. He's never seen her like that. What happened to her in there?

Katniss stops for a second but then starts for the hole in the fence again.

"No!" Gale cries out. "The fence is on! The fence is on! Can't you hear it?"

She's stunned, but backs up and sits on the grass. No, she can't hear it. Her ears are ringing. She's breathing heavily, but otherwise they're both silent. He sits opposite her. She doesn't want to talk to him, and he doesn't know how to pacify her when fear mixes with her anger.

A howl cuts through the silence and Katniss jumps. Gale notices her tense. "It was far away, Catnip. It's okay."

She looks at him with contempt. Does she look okay to him? She was just chased by those howling creatures. All she wants is to be on the other side of the fence where it's safe.

The words fly out of her mouth before she can stop them. "Did you enjoy your dinner last night?" Katniss asks.

Gale notices the edge in her voice. He can tell she's mad he missed hunting yesterday. Surely she heard the rumors at school. He heard that everyone heard them, and he's irritated that she knows why he wasn't there. He's curious what is fueling her anger the most. Is she jealous that he was with Batris or frustrated that he wasn't here to hunt with her?

"I didn't eat actually." He can tell this surprises her. "Thank you for bringing the rabbit."

Katniss stares at him. Part of her, a large part, is glad he went to bed hungry. "Why didn't you eat?" she asks.

"Wasn't fair," he responds coolly, making mounds in the dirt.

She has nothing to say to that. It's a truth they both know. "You don't have to wait here," she says finally, twirling the grass in her fingers.

"I'm not leaving you here alone," Gale says.

Katniss glares at him. The build up consumes her and she blows. "You already did that," she snaps.

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday," he says. "I didn't mean to not come. I just didn't make it."

"Yeah, because you were making out with Batris," Katniss says unkindly.

Curiosity gets the best of him. "I didn't think you would care."

"Of course I care."

He's taken back. Katniss is only thirteen. He figures she's not even thinking about boys yet, not even himself. She's never looked at him like he's anything more than a hunting partner. He assumes that's what they are to each other. He's not entirely sure she considers him a friend, not yet.

Gale can't help himself. "Why?"

"I don't like being out there by myself," she mutters.

It's a safe answer. Of course Katniss doesn't like it. She was by herself today and look at what state she's in now. She's terrified and it's dark out, and she's stuck behind the fence. She probably hasn't eaten anything and her game bag looks pitifully empty.

"If it's any consolation, I don't like it either. I only caught one squirrel."

"Me too." She doesn't add that she threw it away to save herself.

They talk in the moonlight until the fence turns off a couple hours later. The tension is still there, but at least they have some semblance of normalcy back.

The next day at school Gale catches a glimpse of Katniss walking into the cafeteria. Her face is bandaged up in spots. He couldn't see her very well last night so he didn't realize she was hurt. He curses under his breath and yells her name, but she doesn't hear him so he leaves Batris, who is now yelling after him, and dashes into the cafeteria.

Gale catches up to her after noticing that she's favoring her right ankle. What _did_ happen to her in there? She's about to set her lunch bag down at a table. He lightly grabs her shoulder, hoping not to scare her, but she jumps anyway.

She whips around. "Gale," she breathes out.

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" he asks.

Katniss blushes. Gale has his hands cupped around her face, examining her scrapes, and consequently all eyes in the cafeteria are fixed on them. She puts her hands around his and drops them from her face.

It's the first time any girl has been embarrassed at his touch. He bristles but doesn't know why. He guesses it's because he feels she should trust him. But of course she doesn't. He betrayed her trust by ditching her for Batris.

They sit at the table and Katniss pulls out an apple and a small bit of goat cheese for her lunch. That's all she brought? This is usually what she brings when they come back with nothing from the forest.

"I thought you caught a squirrel yesterday?" he asks.

"I did," she replies hastily.

She's hiding something. Well, considering her wounds too, she has been hiding more than one thing. It stings to not have her trust, to not be her confidant. They were growing close, and he doesn't know how he backtracked so much with her in just one afternoon.

"What happened with the squirrel?" he asks.

She glances over at him and quickly looks away. "I lost it."

He furrows his brows. "You lost it?" She nods casually. "How?"

Her face drains. "I dropped it in the forest."

"You never do that."

Katniss words pour out in an angry rant. "Well I'm not usually chased by a pack of wild dogs in the dark by myself either, am I?"

They stare at each other. Katniss is upset still, and Gale feels guilty and angry with himself. Her words come to life in his mind like a nightmare, and the sight in his head terrifies him. No wonder she acted like that last night. She could have been hurt way worse yesterday than scratches and a hurt ankle, or worse, he could have lost his hunting partner, never to return from those woods.

Madge comes up to the table with her lunch bag and is about to sit, but registers the tension and scurries away to a different table.

"I'm sorry," Gale says. "I won't leave you alone out there again."

She hadn't realized how much she hoped he would say that until he did. The corner of her mouth twitches upward. "Okay."


	2. Sports Aren't For Everyone

**AN: Submission #2 for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "schooling." I'm putting up all of my submissions with the story "Foraging Each Other." They aren't exactly chronological and they are disconnected from each other, but the summary should be explanatory. Sorry if there are any errors. I hope you enjoy!**

**Summary: Gale challenges a boy from town in an arm wrestling match and gets a little more than he bargained for.**

**Sports Aren't For Everyone**

"One shot is all you get, Hawthorne," says Keton. He sits down at a table in the cafeteria at lunchtime, and is quickly surrounded by his buddies from town. Gale sits opposite Keton with no one to back him up, but he doesn't mind.

Gale challenged _him_. He wants to play a sport, just like his dad did in high school, and to do so he needs to get ice skates. Keton's ice skates. The fool is bartering them over a competition of strength.

Ice hockey could be his sport. It's quick, smooth, and anybody can matter out there on the rink. Gale is the perfect candidate. He has quick feet, he's smooth with the ladies, and although he doesn't matter now, that will change when his feet hit the ice.

Seam boys can never afford all the gear to play, only townies play hockey, so it's lucky for him that his dad played, paving the way for him, and it's far luckier that he held on to some of the gear for his sons instead of selling it. It's old gear, practically ancient, and the pads are wafer thin, but Gale doesn't need protecting. His dad would often joke, "With three boys, one of them is bound to want to play." His mom doesn't like the idea of any of them playing such a rough sport, so Gale will just have to keep it a secret between him and his dad. Oh yeah, and he'll have to scare the pipsqueaks at home into not telling his mom.

Keton grins at him like he doesn't have a chance. Gale sits stone faced as they square off their shoulders and put one arm on the table, joining their hands and pointing them skyward. "You sure those skates are worth it? No one's ever beaten me," Keton taunts, suddenly flexing his other arm for all the boys to see. Keton has been cut for years. No one has ever even challenged him before. Gale's sinewy arms are nothing to boast of, unless you're a girl who's been entangled in them. Everyone sees the matchup as easy money on Keton.

Gale snorts quietly. He knows this game isn't just about brawn. No game truly is. One of the boys slams his hand against the table. Bam! Bam! Bam! And the battle begins.

Keton takes an early lead with his strength but Gale holds his him back, grunting at the pressure. Seconds pass and the cheering around the table gets louder. Others in the cafeteria observe from a distance. Keton's muscles bulge. His face reddens. He's angry it wasn't a swift victory. Sweat breaks on Gale's forehead, but his hold remains steady. He'll win it over time if he can hold Keton back.

After several minutes pass with no progress, Keton's friends begin berating Gale, but he blocks them out. He knows he's 30 seconds away from winning. He chose the time of the challenge for a reason. The boys start shooting spit wads in Gale's face. They laugh when they stick. Cowards. They would never gang up on him if they were alone. 15...14...13...

Some of them come up behind him and kick at his shoes, but Gale doesn't budge and neither do their arms. 3...2...1...

The bell tolls suddenly and the boys jump, Keton too. Gale takes his one shot and slams Keton's arm down to the table with all his strength. Thwack! The thud reverberates through hushed whispers in the cafeteria. All eyes glare at the winner, incredulous. Gale has won.

"This isn't over," Keton threatens in a low voice as he pushes the ice skates towards Gale.

Gale stuffs them into his bag and heads to his next class. His classmates congratulate him when the townies aren't around. He's proud he won, but he can't say he's looking forward to what will happen after the last bell.

Ring! Gale gets up and finds his siblings before he leaves the school building. He sends them home without him and makes them take his bag. Rory and Vick are confused. He never does that, but they leave him and after a few minutes Gale trudges through the doors.

"Hey Hawthorne!" someone yells behind him. He hears about half a dozen footsteps closing in on him. He doesn't turn around, doesn't acknowledge them. "Wait up prissy boy!" They start cussing and whistling at him. They crowd around him, whooping and hollering. It occurs to him that they could pass for Careers.

One of them trips him and the others swarm closer, punching and kicking, spitting and laughing. Keton gets the last few licks in while Gale takes it silently. He knows fighting back now would only unleash a longer attack. He'll meet them on the ice soon enough, hopefully as his opponents. They won't outnumber him then.

Once they've split his lip and blackened his eyes they are satiated. Gale is left in a grimace in the dirt, watching them walk away. When he finally gets home his mom spirals into a frenzy.

She nearly corrals his face into her hands, but doesn't want to hurt him. "Gale! What happened?" she shrieks. She can barely see the features of the son who looks so much like his father.

Gale tells her it was a dumb fight and he's fine. He shrugs it off and just wants to wash the blood away.

"My baby..." his mom whimpers, examining each cut and each bruise.

"No," Gale chastises affectionately. "This is your baby." He points to her protruding belly.

"Well, she's not here yet, so you'll just have to settle for being coddled a little bit longer."

"She?" Gale asks with a smile. "Ow." Bad idea. Smiling hurts. Fresh blood rushes through the dried blood on his lip.

His mom sighs. "Come with me," she says, and drags him to the only place she knows will help a boy from the Seam.

Knock, knock, knock. A petite, blonde lady with blue eyes opens the door, looks over Gale, and ushers them inside. "Katniss!" the lady calls. "I need hot water."

"I'm busy," the girl replies in an agitated voice. Gale guesses it's the lady's daughter.

"Young lady..." Her warning is met with silence and the blonde lady disappears with a sigh into a different room.

Gale would chuckle if his face weren't so swollen. She's a rebel.

A while later a girl with a long dark hair bustles out with a pot of water and some rags. He can't make out her face, but finds that he wishes he could. He's having trouble seeing through his swollen eyes. The girl sets the items down on the kitchen table, and places a tin basin beside them.

"Too much homework?" Gale asks sarcastically. The girl's quick scowl twists into disgust as she scans his injuries, and looks away quickly, busying herself with steeping the rags. "Or maybe you just don't like blood."

She looks up at him with a confused expression, not that he can tell, and his mom pinches his arm. The lady comes back into the room. "I'm sorry for the wait. I'm Mrs. Everdeen, and this is-" but she stops short when the small girl rushes to the door and dashes outside. Mrs. Everdeen laughs a little and shakes her head. "I hope _she_ never has to doctor anyone's wounds."


	3. Sweet Surprises

**AN: Submission #3 for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "family." **

**Sweet Surprises**

**Summary: Gale and Katniss take down a buck and enjoy all the fruits of their labor when the families join together for their first combined feast. **

"This beast had better not be flea riddled or have worms or something," Gale huffs, shifting the weight of the buck they shot earlier this afternoon. They found him deep in the woods and Katniss has been helping him carry it for miles. They are both exhausted, but they can't stop and let the meat go to waste.

Getting game this big is always a blessing and a curse. With nothing but their own strength to get it into the district and no way of concealing it, they have to make huge concessions to their strength and routine in order to get their money's worth.

Katniss and Gale are tired and the sun has gone down by the time they get the buck past the fence. But their exhaustion soon turns into excitement when they get the horned beast past the lingering Peacekeepers and into the back of Rooba's butcher shop. It will take her quite a while to skin and clean it, so Gale stays to help and Katniss leaves to tell their families what is going on so they don't worry.

Once Rooba finishes preparing a cut of meat they sneak it over to the Hob and let the bidding war begin. They go back and forth from Rooba's to the Hob many, many times. Peacekeepers trip over each other to place their bid. Greasy Sae nearly shoves Darius over while bidding on the umbles. It's more than they hoped for.

Most of the vendors had gone home for the day when the sun set, but someone saw Gale and Katniss sneak the buck into town and word spread like wildfire to those in the food business that Gale and Katniss might bring in venison. All of those vendors stuck around to bid.

They pay Rooba with venison steaks and she promises her silence. She doesn't want to get in trouble as an accomplice to illegal hunting. After the last haul to the Hob they sneak the rest of the meat home with more coins than they have ever had.

It is now past their usual bed time and their bodies are almost collapsing with exhaustion. Katniss promises to meet at Gale's in a half hour to dry the cheaper cuts as jerky.

Katniss' mom asks her to invite the Hawthornes over for dinner the next night for a venison roast. Hazelle laughs and tells Katniss that she beat her to the punch. Hazelle had the same invitation in mind.

Gale and Katniss make a small fire outside and build a rack out of long sticks to slowly cook and dry the venison strips that Rooba cut for them. Katniss crushes some herbs and uses some of her precious spices to marinate the meat throughout the dehydration process. They boast that their families will have full bellies for weeks and can hardly believe their good fortune. Tonight they smile and feel proud that they are able to provide and share so much joy with their loved ones.

Drying the meat takes most of the night. Gale and Katniss struggle to keep their eyes open, but know that a long, rough night is worth it in the end. They won't even need to hunt for the rest of the week, so they can catch up on sleep and resume hunting on the weekend. When they get to school the next day they are running on less than two hours of sleep. They don't hear a thing any teacher says and are like the dead walking. Napping at lunchtime helps them make it through the rest of the day.

They send their siblings home to help start dinner preparations, and Gale and Katniss walk into town to get supplies and some biscuits for dinner.

"I want to get a tiny cake for all of us," Katniss says at the bakery, almost to herself, as Gale heads for the door with a box of biscuits.

He doesn't look surprised, but doesn't say anything. Cakes are a luxury item he can't afford, not even after last night's haul.

"It's Prim's birthday next week," Katniss argues, though no one contradicts her.

She looks at Gale, waiting for him to disagree with her, but he only gives her a yawn. She turns back and clasps her hands together. He knows she's going to buy it. She's got that look on her face. "Maybe I shouldn't," she says.

Gale rolls his eyes at her. The baker waits patiently. "Want a little sample?"

Katniss' eyes go wide. That seems extreme to her. There's no guarantee she'll buy it. "Oh..I..."

"Here," he cuts her tiny piece.

She has never tasted anything so delicious. Creamy, soft, moist, sweet...it's perfect. She turns and shoves some in Gale's mouth. "You _have_ to try this." He barely opens his mouth in time. Gale notices the baker's son is watching them from the kitchen.

Gale licks the frosting off his lips and nods. He can't think of anything tasting better than this, well maybe Katniss' lips. He can't wait for the day he taste tests those...

"I'll take it," Katniss says, wringing her hands together. It feels weird for her to spend actual money here.

The Everdeens discover that dinner with the Hawthornes is loud and very entertaining. The boys joke endlessly and Hazelle loves to tells stories. Posy contributes with squeals and little songs as she eats. Prim and Katniss are slightly more reserved, but soon warm to telling stories too, mostly about each other. Katniss' mom is polite and friendly, but is reserved in conversation. She's more focused on being a good hostess and making sure everyone gets enough servings.

Prim screams in delight when Katniss sets the cake on the table. She won't even let her mom cut it until she's looked at the frosting designs from every angle. Everyone compliments the Mellark bakery on their fine dessert and thanks Katniss for spoiling them. After dessert they slump into their seats in the area designated for the living room. The Hawthornes brought some games their dad made for them when they were growing up. Vick and Rory make all of them take turns playing with them.

All of them except Gale and Katniss who are practically asleep. They are occupying the couch, half lidded, stuffed, and utterly happy. Prim is seated in front of Katniss, who mindlessly braids her blonde hair in different patterns. Prim is so full and relaxed that she's practically asleep, slumped cozily in between Katniss' legs.

Katniss nestles into Gale's side as she grows sleepy. He's in heaven, and she's totally aloof. He realized his feelings were unwavering and crystal clear for her months ago, but he had felt them drifting into his heart for years.

When Posy drifts asleep Hazelle gathers the boys from their game and leaves to put them all to sleep. She's about to ask Gale to come with them, she knows how exhausted he is, but Gale fixes her with the most anxious, pleading look she's ever seen from him. Hazelle sees Katniss falling asleep on Gale's shoulder and glances over at Katniss' mom, who gives her the "mother nod" that she'll make sure Gale doesn't get home too late.

Prim wanders to bed and Katniss' mom heads to the kitchen to put things away, and Gale and Katniss are left alone on the couch. Gale absentmindedly strokes Katniss' bare arms as his eyelids get heavy. Gale doesn't know that Katniss woke up at his touch.

Besides Prim no one ever shows her physical affection. Her mom is always distant, bogged down by guilt and fear of Katniss' reproach. Gale's fingers send tingles down her spine. She keeps herself from shivering so he won't stop, knowing she's actually awake. His fingers brush her loose hair down her back and Katniss almost lets out a sigh. For a second she's scared she did, but then she realizes it was _Gale_ who did that.

She figures he's just tired and brushes it aside, slyly curling deeper into the nook of his arm. He takes that opportunity to keep her slowly moving until he has nestled her onto his lap. She's surprised but guesses she was in an uncomfortable position and this feels better for him.

Gale sighs again and gently brushes the hair off her cheek. "Katniss," he says, lower than a whisper. She doesn't answer. Does he know she's awake? "I wish..." What does he wish?

Katniss' mom steps back into the room and she knows Gale won't say what he wishes now. She resents her mom in this moment, despite knowing she didn't do anything wrong just now.

"Do you want to go bed, Gale?" her mom asks, offering him an escape.

Does he ever, but with Katniss, and that's not going to happen here. He's worried that may never happen.

"I can get her into bed if you want to go," she continues.

"No," he says, his voice husky with drowsiness. "You've had a long day. You can go to sleep if you want. I'll make sure to get her into bed soon."

"Okay," Katniss thinks her mom sounds grateful, and so is she. She doesn't want to leave Gale yet.

"Dinner was great, by the way," Gale says.

"Thank you. And thank you for everything you did. Goodnight, Gale."

"Goodnight." Gale resumes stroking Katniss' back. After a while it's less like stroking and more like lightly exploring. His fingers almost hover over her arms, her neck, her back, her cheeks, her lips...

She shivers, and he stops, his fingers rest against her lips. He lifts them and lets his fingers glide through her thick hair. He does this until he's sure she's asleep. "I wish...I wish things weren't so complicated with you, Catnip." She finally hears him say what he wishes, and now she's confused. What does he mean by that? She feels his lips brush against the back of her head as he sighs into her hair, and she's left wondering what to make of this sweet surprise.


	4. Initiation

**AN: Submission #4 for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "The Hob."**

**Summary: Gale teaches Katniss how to fish, and Katniss teaches Gale about the Hob. **

Gale steps outside his house early in the morning to read the weather conditions. It's a beautiful June day. The summer sun warms his face and the breeze cools it. The day is in perfect balance; the weather is working in tandem.

Summertime usually has that effect: coaxing him to let his guard down, relax, and do something out of the ordinary. Maybe that's the reason he grabs his fishing net and stuffs it into his game bag. With not a cloud in sight he figures the temperature will spike, and he doesn't want to sweat his way through the woods. He'd rather sink into some water and feel refreshed. Today is a perfect day to fish.

After a little convincing Katniss decides to join Gale at the stream and learn to fish. She's never done it before, but takes to it after a few attempts. They're both knee deep in the water, having rolled their pants up, while they wait for fish to acclimate to their presence. They hold a long net in the clear water and wait for fish to swim near enough to trap them. Gale mentions offhandedly that this is his favorite way to catch food. Katniss wonders silently if it's because he can watch as they get trapped, but keeps it to herself.

Gale catches enough to fill half his game bag. Katniss turns her coveting eyes away and peers down at her three sad, little fish. She's not even sure she wants to eat them. They smell pungent and unappetizing to her. Fish don't ever make an appearance at the dinner table in the Seam. She's not even sure the merchants eat them.

She jumps when a few extra fish land with a squishy "plop" in her game bag. Gale laughs as she squirms. "I can't take these," she says. She picks one up by the tail and makes a face as she slides it back into Gale's bag, quickly followed by the other two.

"I have plenty, Catnip. My mom isn't going to know what to do with all these. Here, just take two more, okay?" He adds two to her bag.

Gale is in a great mood the whole way back to the fence. He's musing about what his mom will probably do with each meal they can get out of today's haul. She barely throws in a "yeah" or "mm" or "uh-huh" in the pauses in his one-sided conversation. Her mind is occupied with how long it will take to scrub the fish smell out of her game bag.

When they get to the fence the fish smell has not only ruined Katniss' bag but her mood too. "Come on, I know somewhere we could make some trades." Gale furrows his brows at her but follows as she leads him to a large, abandoned building. He's been in some of those before, but never with Katniss. He doubts her idea to "make some trades" involves making out like he usually does in deserted buildings.

"It's called 'the Hob,'" she says.

He doesn't like the looks of it. The outside is stained black, as if it has endured being on fire. It smells strongly of coal dust and there are signs hanging that read "Danger" "No Trespassing" and "Keep Out", along with one that has images of a skull and crossbones. He's more than a little leery that there's anything worthwhile in here, or that the building is even structurally sound. Besides, what does "the Hob" even mean?

"Are you coming?" Katniss glances back before walking inside without him.

Well if a tiny twelve year old _girl_ isn't wigged out of this place why is he still out here? He follows her inside and is instantly surprised by the quiet activity going on inside. He scans the vendors who have items displayed on top of splintered, wooden boards. He recognizes a few faces but doesn't actually know anyone by name except drunk, old Haymitch Abernathy, their only living victor from the Hunger Games.

Gale spots a small group of peacekeepers in a dark corner. They know about this place and don't do anything? He's struck with a thought that maybe this market doesn't allow for trades of an illegal nature. He doesn't see anyone else trading poached animals to the vendors behind the tables. Does Katniss really plan on trading their fish? With peacekeepers around he certainly hopes not. She's never mentioned selling her game here before. Why would she when she can bring it home and eat it for dinner?

Katniss walks right over to a small, hunched lady with greasy hair. She plops her game bag on the table.

"Phew-ey, what is that smell you brought with you, little lady?" she asks Katniss.

"That's why I'm here actually," Katniss crinkles her nose in disgust. "Sae, this is Gale."

"Oh!" She she looks him up and down and gives Katniss a strange look. "Well, Gale, have you got anything you want to trade today?"

He glances behind the woman at soup simmering in a large, black pot over a small fire. "Me? Uh, no, ma'am." Gale knows he's fumbling his words. He's nervous about getting caught and is worried that Katniss will get in trouble too. "Maybe we should just get out of here, Katniss," he says quietly to her.

"Why?" Katniss asks.

"That's why," he says, nodding to a peacekeeper who is walking over. He quickly averts his eyes.

"What seems to be the problem here?" the peacekeeper asks them. Gale notices the man is very young, probably no older than nineteen. He doesn't seem to have the air of authority that the peacekeepers in town have, but Gale knows better than to assume a peacekeeper isn't a threat. "I hope you're not trying to sell anything to this nice lady," he nods to Sae who flashes him a smile.

Gale doesn't respond. He hopes Katniss will answer for him, but she's silent. His stomach plummets. It's the worst possible moment for her to be silent. He suddenly hates that she dragged him in here.

"Are you deaf, kid?" the peacekeeper asks. Gale snaps his eyes up and makes eye contact with the man. "I asked you if you're trying to sell anything?"

Gales jaw drops open. "Wha-, no, nothing at all. Sir." he says hastily.

The peacekeeper grabs his bag and opens it up. Gale swallows the lump in his throat and curses silently. "That's too bad," the peacekeeper says. "I was having a craving for fish stew." He looks back at Gale, stone faced. Gale is trying to read the man. Is he angry? Will he punish him for having fish? Gale doesn't even know if they sell fish in town. If they don't than he's in trouble.

They're in a stare off, but then Katniss does something that takes them both off guard. "Oh give it a rest, Chase," she smacks him lightly on the arm.

Gale's jaw hits the floor. He's envisioning Katniss on a whipping post or worse.

The peacekeeper, Chase, looks down at Katniss and his face suddenly cracks into a wide grin. Then laughter fills the air. He's laughing so hard his shoulders are bouncing up and down. He turns back to Gale and gives him a hard slap on the arm. "Ah! You should have seen your face! Priceless," he laughs loudly.

Gale scowls at Chase. He doesn't like being the object of unwelcome laughter.

Chase notices. "Ah don't be so serious kid. This," he gestures with his arms, circling the area around them, "is initiation. Don't worry, you passed."

Gale lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding and laughs nervously.

Immediately upon seeing Gale relax, Chase says in a serious tone, "Now pay up."

"Excuse me?" Gale asks, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"The first time in here you have to pay us for our silence," Chase says.

Gale's face slackens and then anger starts building inside him. He feels like he is being pushed and pulled in all different directions.

"Ha-ha!" Chase suddenly breaks into a smile again and laughs. "I got him again!" He nudges Katniss' arm.

Gale sees her laughing _with_ Chase, laughing _at_ him. He doesn't like it. He fixes her with a scowl and she goes quiet.

"Gale," she says, using his name like it's consolation.

Suddenly he walks away from them, unable to contain his emotions any longer. She runs up behind him and grabs his arm. "Wait, just listen." He turns around. "They did that to me too. Sae says they do that to everyone. It's just a joke."

"It wasn't funny," Gale snaps. "I thought I was really in trouble back there."

"You're not," Katniss says quickly with a pacifying tone. "Every peacekeeper here has bought meat from me before."

Gale looks between her and the peacekeepers who are standing in a circle laughing. Chase is telling them a story, probably about Gale.

"You could have at least warned me," Gale says in frustration.

"And spoil the surprise?" Katniss tries to hold back a smile but fails and her lips spread into a half smile. He's never seen her smile in the district before. She's only ever smiled around him in the woods. Once. He's been waiting to see it happen again.

Seeing her like that deflates his anger almost immediately. She convinces him to join her back over at Sae's table.

"Now do you have something for me sweet cheeks?" Sae asks and gives him a flirtatious wink.

He laughs, mostly to relax himself, and Katniss gives him a rare nudge of approval. Gale thinks there's a small chance he will like this place after all.


	5. Comfort

**AN: Submission #5 for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "The Games."**

**Summary: Gale and Katniss find ways to comfort each other during the 73rd Hunger Games.**

It's the second day of the 73rd Hunger Games, and Gale and Katniss, along with their families, have been summoned to the town square for mandatory viewing. They plan to arrive early because they have become accustomed to sitting together for the viewings. They run into each other on the way to town and walk side by side in silence. Their families follow behind, the moms and daughters walk together, and Rory and Vick pair up too. The moms sneak a smile at each other as they watch Gale and Katniss sit side by side, directing their siblings beside them. Hazelle caught Gale resting his hand on Katniss' back during last year's Games when the girl tribute from 12 died. She wonders what they're like in the woods. The moms can't help but look for signs of a budding relationship. It's what they expect to happen sooner or later.

The town square is filled with chairs in every spot possible, but it's never enough to accommodate the whole district. So the peacekeepers enacted a complex system where they summon only town families one day and the next day only Seam families, until every last person has joined the town square festivities in equal amounts as everyone else. Some of the merchants pull small chairs or stools on the walkway to watch from their businesses, but they don't mix with people from the Seam. Seeing this setup on the second day of the Games reminds her of something Gale told her once.

"They showcase only those who are well off when the cameras are around for the opening of the Games. They never want the Seam kids in sight while the Capitol camera crews are around. Because if no one from Panem sees the poor, what reason would there be to fight for them? It's just another way to divide the people in Panem."

Katniss couldn't disagree with him, but poked fun to lighten the mood. "Is this just because you want the cameras to showcase your good looks?"

"You think I look good?" he asked seriously, suddenly grinning.

His vanity rises to the surface as quick as his anger does. Katniss uses this fact from time to time.

"Don't you?" Katniss teased with a smile and walked past him.

Katniss nods in the direction of the camera crews once their families have been seated. "Looks like your good looks won't go to waste tonight after all," she whispers in his ear.

He remembers their conversation from last year and scans her face curiously. Gale glances back at the cameras and looks like he wants to say something. He probably would, if it wouldn't come across as treason.

For years their district's tributes have died on the first day, often at the bloodbath. Many try to escape but are overpowered by the stronger tributes. However, this year the boy tribute, Brogan, has a sliver of a chance. That must be why the cameras are still here. He's eighteen and is strong from doing sports throughout high school. His mom and dad are watching from their shoe store in the square.

When the video pans over to Brogan, Gale whispers, "He must have never skipped a meal." Katniss knows Gale wishes Brogan wasn't in the Games. He just can't help comparing how much farther a strong, nourished kid from town survives than a weak, starving kid from the Seam.

Katniss puts her hand gently on his forearm. She's trying to convey that he doesn't need to say anything for her to understand. She doesn't want him to get in trouble.

Gale covers her hand with his own. It's a warm and familiar comfort. She knows all the lines, grooves, and scars on his hands. She has analyzed how they tie snares and knot fishing lines and set traps. She knows his hands like he knows the movements of her body. It took him months to understand how each angle and breath and release affected the flight of her arrow. It took him years to mimic her movements and he's never been able to get the same results.

Katniss' eyes are growing heavy as they watch the Games. Her head nods forward and then snaps backwards out of reflex again and again. The peacekeepers aren't usually forceful, but if they notice someone not watching during mandatory viewing they will use force against them. He's seen peacekeepers kick and punch people when they doze off.

So he drapes an arm around Katniss' shoulder and pulls her to him. She looks at him in confusion.

"Rest on me, Catnip."

"But Gale-"

"Shh, just rest your head for a bit."

"Okay," she gives in. She snuggles into the nook under his arm and breathes in the smell of his leather vest. She likes knowing that she can find comfort in the square. This is a place where fear is supposed to dominate. She wonders if Gale can find the same comfort in her.

A few seconds later she doesn't need to wonder. The girl tribute from District 7 is killed by one of the Careers and the cannon goes off. It's always louder here in the square because of the sound system. Gale jumps. Katniss can hear his heartbeat drumming more distinctly. She feels it pulsing quickly. He draws her closer and rests his chin on top of her head. A few seconds later his heartbeat slows noticeably.

About an hour later the anthem plays. She knows the peacekeepers will blow their whistles, signifying the end of mandatory viewing in the square. She pushes herself further into the nook under his arm suddenly, and hears the whistles mix with his quickening heartbeat.


	6. The Accident

**AN: Submission #6 for the tumblr Everthorne prompts. The theme was "Mining."**

**Prompt Quote, from THG: **

_"The response to a mine accident was something outside the control of even the Capitol. […] The elevators were screeching, burning up and down their cables as they vomited smoke-blackened miners into the light of day. With each group came cries of relief, relatives diving under the rope to lead off their husbands, wives, children, parents, siblings. We stood in the freezing air as the afternoon turned overcast, a light snow dusted the earth. The elevators moved more slowly now and disgorged fewer beings. I knelt on the ground and pressed my hands into the cinders, wanting so badly to pull my father free."_

**Summary: Gale hears the siren at school and runs to the mines only to find the worst has happened. **

Gale digs his ice skates out of his school bag when he arrives at the frozen pond the school hockey team uses as an ice rink. The other ice hockey players are all from town. Most have played for years. When he showed up with all the equipment in hand he hoped that his teammates might accept him, but he realizes that was a far fetched idea as he sits on a frozen patch of grass all by himself, lacing up the pair of skates he won from that arm wrestling bet a couple days ago with Keton.

His face is still bruised from the fight he got into after school that day. He told his mom it was a stupid fight and she believed him, but his dad wasn't fooled. He knew his son never turns down a fight, and usually wins. So when he saw his son's bloody face instead of bloody knuckles he knew something was up.

Gale decided not to tell his dad that he fought over ice skates. He hasn't even told him that today is his first game. He wants to surprise him, maybe tell him about scoring his first goal, which he's sure will happen today.

He stands to his feet, feeling a bit unsteady on the skates. As he steps gingerly onto the ice he realizes for the first time that he doesn't know how to skate let alone play a sport while doing so. He curses silently and hopes he's a quick learner.

"Don't fall, Hawthorne!" Keton goads at him as he skates around Gale in a circle and pushes him. He almost falls but is able to correct his balance.

The game begins and the first period whizzes by with Gale still learning how to skate and play simultaneously. The whistle blows, signaling the second period and Keton shoves Gale soon after as he heads towards the goal, zig zagging the puck with his hockey stick. Keton loses it to an opponent behind the net and now the opponent is heading towards Gale, quickly.

Gale quickly readies himself and skates towards the opponent. He fishes the puck away from him and flicks it towards the edge of the rink. The opponent is too surprised to react and Gale presses his advantage. He makes his way to the puck, whisking it forward and dodging other opponents. Before long he is at the net, just him and the goalie. He fires it in the net and it lands in the back right corner with a satisfying swoosh. He can't believe it. His first goal. Now he will really have something to share with his dad.

The cheers from his team and the crowd are like music to his ears, until they are replaced with the horrifying blast of a siren. His face falls and he drops his hockey stick. It's the mine siren. Most of the players stand frozen, Town kids who aren't terrified for their parents, just startled by the siren, but the crowd is more of a mix of Seam kids. They erupt into a frenzied scene of kids pushing each other out of the way and running as fast as they can to the same place he is going.

In his panic he trips over his skates and falls to his knees. He hates himself for that. When he reaches the edge of the rink his brothers are there with bulging, terrified eyes. They are shouting at him but he can't make out their words over the siren.

Gale throws his bag over his shoulder, and then grabs each one by the hand, yanking them towards the mine.

Hours have passed since the siren has gone off and Gale has gathered his family to watch the elevators in the front of the large crowd. He almost wishes for the deafening blast of the siren. Physical misery is less evil to him than emotional misery. The silence almost feels ceremonial, as if he's standing at the cemetery, waiting for his turn to mourn his father. Each time an elevator opens without his father he loses more hope. Then an hour passes with no new survivors and his heart sinks further into his chest. The peacekeepers announce that a final elevator is coming up and have to pry open the doors to release the lucky survivors. His dad is not one of them. It confirms his worst fear. His dad must be dead below them, already buried with no funeral, no goodbyes. No closure.

"Wait! Wait!" he hears and snaps his head over to find the source of the voice. "You just didn't look hard enough!" a girl from the Seam cries out. She dashes for an elevator. The peacekeepers close in on her. Gale wonders where her mother is, and why she isn't holding her daughter back from her hysterics. "I'll go!" she tells the peacekeepers urgently. "I'll keep searching."

Gale looks at her in pity. He knows there's no way their fathers are alive. He guesses she's the type who can't accept tragedy outright. Though he's in no state to judge.

The peacekeepers grab her by the arms and drag her away from the elevators. They dump her down by the rest of the families. She digs her hands deep into the earth and slowly pulls them out, clutching rocks and dirt and ash. A small girl with blonde hair runs over to her and puts her arms around her, followed by the woman who patched him up a few days ago. He's startled by the realization that this is the girl who brought out the hot water and rags to patch him up. He remembers wishing he could have seen her face that day, before she ran away from his injuries. Now he wishes he wasn't seeing the agony so painfully evident.

Gale can't seem to tear his eyes away from her, though he knows he should. She's the outburst he feels inside. She hugs her knees to her chest and sobs. He wishes he could do that, but he feels he needs to be strong for his mom and siblings. His mom is in too delicate of a state for any one of them to lose it.

The sun dips underground and takes the last rays of hope with it. It's been hours since another elevator has risen from the smoking underground. His mom already went home with the kids, but he had wanted to stay. Gale wishes there could be some definite way to find out what happened to his father.

When he gets home he offers each of them food but they all decline except for his mom. He suspects she's really not hungry, and is just eating for the baby, but something normal like providing a meal is keeping his sanity in check.

She goes to sleep afterwards, but he hears her crying. He hears all of his family crying. The desperation consumes the house, swallowing them whole. He crushes his head with his hands and allows himself five minutes to cry. Five minutes of ugly sobs turns into an hour, which turns into all night.

The next day and night he doesn't cry. He refuses to. His family looks at him differently, or maybe it's just that his perception of himself has changed. He has to become something more than a kid who goes to school and wants to play hockey like his dad. He has to become his dad. He signs up for tesserae that day. He's one of many kids in line. Most have red faces like they've been crying. The officials ask him to verify his age, not believing he is only sixteen years old.

When he sets the bag of grain on the kitchen table he feels his role activate. The way his siblings look at him confirms this. He has become their provider, their support, their life source.

Another day comes and he finds himself on stage accepting a medal on behalf of his father at the Justice Building. He makes sure to display it in their family room. It's his declaration: What is given to me, I give back to you. He will do this with the tesserae. He will do this in the mines as soon as he's able. Until then he'll have to find another way to give to them.

The next day Hazelle goes into labor. He doesn't know what to do but he does know where to find help.

He knocks on the shabby wooden door frantically. The small girl with the dark braid opens the door instead of the blonde lady he was hoping to see. "Is Mrs. Everdeen here?" he asks hastily. "My mom is in labor."

"Yeah..uh...I don't know if she's..." She stammers. "One second," she says and dashes into a room.

Gale hears her relay the situation to her mom. He's wondering why her mom isn't coming faster. Doesn't she know this is serious? He overhears the seemingly one-sided conversation. "Mom, listen to me. Mom! Did you hear what I said? There's a lady having a baby and she needs your help. Come on. Mom!"

The blonde mother appears, looking frazzled and distant, but it'll have to do. He leads her to his house and when she arrives she starts asking about the contractions and the time between them. His mom barely has time to answer before the next contraction hits and Mrs. Everdeen announces that the baby is crowning. She glances at Gale and tells him that it's good that he got her there in time, and he has to bite back a remark about her unnecessary delay. It wouldn't do anyone any good anyways.

His mom was right, it was a baby girl. She named her Posy, after his dad's mother. He can hardly believe that the baby is here, all pink and warm and tiny in his arms. He finds himself wishing his dad could have held her in his arms and seen her little face all scrunched up. He wishes his dad would have been the first to feel her hand curl around his finger and hear her make her voice known for the first time.

The next day Gale is exhausted and he spends most of it directing his siblings on chores and helping his mom take care of Posy. He feels their strength waning and knows they're all malnourished, even with the tesserae grain. All they've had is creamed wheat and a few pieces of fruit each. He knows they need meat, and vegetables too. He has no money and no way of getting any, so he knows what his next day will involve.

Gale is scared to enter the woods. He wishes he didn't have to break the law to feed his family, but he ducks under the fence anyway. He sets some rudimentary snares he remembers his dad teaching him but he doesn't catch anything the first day. He does find some roots they can eat though. He fills his bag with all that he can find. He's not sure if all of it is edible, but he can't walk home empty handed. He has to be more than a brother or son to his family now. He can live outside the law to make sure they live. He won't let the accident take anymore of his family from him.


	7. Secret Admirer

**AN: Submission #7 (final one) for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "Valentine's Day." This one was by far my favorite to write. It's slightly AU. I hope you enjoyed all these! **

**Summary: Gale sends a Valentine's Day surprise to Katniss at school as her secret admirer. Will she uncover the truth?**

A red paper flower garland hangs above the school's front door, welcoming the students of District 12 as they walk into the lobby. It reminds Katniss that she completely forgot about this day. Prim wore a pink ribbon in her hair and had a bounce in her step the whole way there, but she didn't think anything of it at the time.

District 12 has a long standing tradition of celebrating February 14th, called the "Day of Love." Rumors go around each year that it was once called Valentine's Day, but no one knows why. Gale's guess is that Valentine was a playboy, and they named it after his famous exploits. Katniss has never postulated on why it exists.

Worthwhile or not, the school celebrates it with a few traditions of its own. Some of her classmates dress up in their finest outfit as they do on Reaping Day, although the color scheme falls to pinks, reds, and purples, if they have those clothes available. Girls from the Seam rarely have any fabric still colored that bright after the numerous hand me downs, but the girls from town often color the hallways in their bright dresses.

Among these girls color seems to be a matter of pride, just like the paper roses the school fashions and allows students to buy and send during school on the 14th. Seam kids rarely have the money for these gifts, so Katniss has never even considered getting or receiving one.

Gale on the other hand always sends paper flowers to various girls. He could never afford to buy them from the administration at school, so he pre-makes them at home, enlisting Posy's exuberant help, affixing the names of the girls they were being sent to, and then sneaking them onto the cart that holds everyone else's purchased paper flowers. This year he enlisted Posy's help as usual but told her she had to keep it a secret. He had something different up his sleeve.

Katniss arrives at her first class, not suspecting any flowers in her classes. So she's surprised when there's not one, but two. The first is definitely from the school. They use a special shiny paper. However, the second appears to be homemade.

Neither have a tag declaring the sender's name, but the homemade one says: "From your secret admirer." Katniss wonders who they might be from all day. During class she watches for any unusual glances. In the hallways she looks for staring eyes. After school she looks for hopeful expressions. Nothing. Of one thing she's sure though, two people sent her a flower. Her frustration makes her decide to analyze them again. She overturns the leaves and pulls at the petals, and that's when surprise hits her. There is giveaway on the homemade flower. She knows who her secret admirer is, and though she still doesn't know who sent her the other one, she doesn't care as much anymore.

Gale and Katniss meet at their rock to hunt after school as usual since very few holidays stand in the way of gathering food. When they finish hunting for the day they clean their kills by a stream. Katniss peers into Gale's game bag. "You've got quite a haul today."

"I know," Gale says with a grin.

"What are you going to do with all of that?"

"I'll probably sell most of it."

"You'll be able to buy them something special with all of this," she says.

"Yeah, I was thinking I could buy sugar for my mom to make something for the kids," he pauses, deep in thought. "She hasn't done that in a long time."

"Don't tell me you celebrate the "Day of Love," Katniss air quotes.

"Of course I do," he says. He notices her roll her eyes, so he decides not to press on that for the moment. "Do you think that this day is celebrated in the rest of Panem?"

Katniss wasn't anticipating this question, which feels like uncharted territory between them. "I guess I've never thought about it."

Gale smiles discreetly. He's not surprised at all. "I heard it was called Valentine's Day, once upon a time."

Katniss looks at him like she could care less but she can tell that Gale is at the very least intrigued enough to talk about, so she decides to humor him. "Do you think Valentine was a person?" she asks.

Gale's laugh makes Katniss think he's inventing a story in his head. "Yeah, I think he was a person who was very good with the game of love."

"The game of love?" Katniss asks.

"I bet in District 4 it's called Finnick's Day," Gale redirects, rolling his eyes. "District 1 probably calls it Cashmere's Day."

"Would it be called Gale's Day here?" Katniss asks, laughing in a teasing manner.

Gale doesn't find it funny. "What?" Gale's face is composed but his voice betrays his irritation.

Katniss swallows, knowing instinctively that she hit a nerve accidently. "Uhh...I'm sorry. That was stupid. I don't know why I said that."

Gale sits silently for several seconds and then asks quietly, not looking directly at her. "Well something made you say it," he says begrudgingly.

Katniss shrugs. "I saw all the paper roses in your bag today." She looks down, suddenly not wanting to make eye contact. _This is one reason they don't talk about high school romances._

Gale's good mood bounces back. "Checking out my roses huh?" Gale nudges her shoulder. "Are you jealous?"

Katniss slides her eyes up to look at him and catches him smirking at her. She has to admit that she knows why the girls whisper about him, when he does that. It's as if the mere tug on his lips tugs at the girls' heartstrings. Not hers though, obviously.

"I got some too you know," she says.

Gale frowns. "I didn't know that. Did they say who they were from?"

"No," she smiles. "Except for one."

"What one?" he asks, resisting the urge to seize her bag and examine the contendingrose.

She digs in a pocket in her bag and pulls out his homemade paper flower. He pulls back a little, trying not to give her the impression he knows this particular rose came from him. "This one is different from the other one," she says.

He's still stuck on "other one" for a second, jealously wondering who else is flirting with her. "What makes that one different?" he asks casually.

"Well for one, this is not from the school."

"How do you know?"

"The school uses different paper."

Gale rolls his eyes. "Are you saying they only use one type of paper?"

Katniss shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe not, but they definitely don't handwrite their name on a petal."

Gale frowns and snatches it from her. There's no way his name got written on this. He would never be that obvious with her. She reaches out, brushing his fingers as she twists the flower in his hand and exposes the petal that has betrayed him.

"It says...Posy," Gale says, stunned. His sister just couldn't follow orders could she? She just started school and has been proudly bringing all her work home to her mom and Gale. In art class she has been taught to sign her name somewhere on her work, and that is exactly what she did on the paper flower. _Great_.

Katniss laughs as she watches Gale put it all together. "Now, my question is why did Posy give me a flower when the younger kids only give paper hearts?"

"Uhh..." Gale finds himself at a loss for words. He thought he was being so smooth. Only with Katniss are his charms befuddled. "Okay, so here's the thing...oh screw it. I made you that, obviously with Posy's help." Katniss notices how sheepish his face is. "I'm not very good at making things like that."

"I like it," Katniss says, clearly surprising him.

"You do?" He looks at her curiously.

"Yeah, but it makes me feel bad that I didn't give anything to you," she admits.

"Well if it makes you feel better, it was supposed to be a secret."

"A secret?" Katniss says, tasting the word on her lips.

"Yeah, as if I'm your secret admirer," Gale says. Then his eyes go big as he realizes he's said too much.

"You admire me?" Katniss asks. If it's true then it's the best compliment he could give her. She has respected him for a long time, not that they've touched on the topic before. Their willingness to team up and share their hauls, their devotion to their families, and their constancy with each other speaks the words for them.

Though now that she's thinking about it, she discovers her heart warming to it being declared.

"Yes, I admire you Katniss," he says sincerely with a hint of a blush. Talking like this with her is foreign territory for him. He's not sure how far into his feelings to delve into with her. He's terrified to scare her away.

She looks into his eyes and finally says something. "I admire you too."

He can't suprress the look of surprise on his face and wonders if she might mean it in a different way than he does. Silence stretches out for a few seconds, but it's not uncomfortable.

Then Katniss speaks again, "Have we been secret admirers for a long time?"

He laughs, unsure how to respond to that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...I respect you, and I have for a long time, but I've never shared that with you. It's been a secret, I guess."

His heart sinks a little at the description of her feelings for him. "Yes, you could say that." He can't bear to say any more on that topic, so he switches it up. "So have you ever celebrated the Day of Love?" Gale asks, curiosity tinting his voice.

"No," Katniss shakes her head. "My dad used to bring home flowers for my mom though." Katniss smiles at the memory.

Gale seems faraway suddenly, as if recalling a secret longing. "Have you ever wanted to?"

Katniss looks at him. "I don't know. How is it celebrated?"

Gale shifts suddenly and Katniss can't help wondering what he's thinking. His thoughts seem locked away. "Well there are the paper roses at school, dressing up," he pauses and rolls his eyes, "and some guys buy sweets for girls they like."

Gale notices Katniss shift at the mere mention of the word "like," so he cuts the list off there.

"Those sound like things only people in town can do," Katniss says, frustration thick in her voice, not because she wants those things but because she can't have them.

Gale understands this. "People in the Seam have other ways to celebrate it."

"Cheap ways?" Katniss asks, lifting her eyebrow in mockery.

Gale sees the double entendre in her words and can't hold back a chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Katniss doesn't answer, just wrinkles her face in confusion as she tries to work out what those cheap ways are.

It takes him a few seconds to work up the courage to continue. "A lot of people have their first kiss on the "Day of Love."

Katniss wonders if this is what the kids in her grade are doing at this point. Gale is two years older after all. Older classes always brag about being more "advanced." "Why?" she asks him.

Gale stifles a laugh and a sigh simultaneously. "I guess they think if they're going to do it they might as well do it on the 'Day of Love.'"

"Does that make it count more?" she asks warily.

Gale reflects on his first kiss, which oddly enough was on the Day of Love several years ago. "No, I think if anything it's the opposite," he says honestly.

Katniss thinks on that for a while. She idly wonders if Gale has kissed other girls on this day. Maybe he's already kissed some today. "How do you pick someone for that?" Katniss asks, purposefully choosing this moment to clean her arrows, again.

Gale frantically analyzes word choices in his head. He's getting foolhardy enough to think she might be interested in doing that, and might choose him, and that it might be today. _Holy crap why didn't he think this through earlier? _"I think the best person is one that you feel comfortable with."

"And they just kiss..." she trails off.

"For the sake of kissing," he finishes her sentence. "Yeah."

She's silently cleaning her arrows still. He knows her well enough to know she's avoiding furthering the conversation.

"Katniss?" he tries for her attention. She looks up at him and stops cleaning.

Now that she's looking at him he's having a hard time bringing words to mind. Any words at all. She's made him temporarily speechless. Katniss looks back down at her arrows.

Then she surprises them both when she puts the arrows down and scoots closer to him. She waits to look up at him until she's right beside him. Their eyes meet and she asks him if it would be okay by glancing down at his lips. She can't voice a request like this, not even to Gale. Obviously he's the only one she's comfortable enough to try _this_ with.

When she looks back into his eyes she finds him looking at her lips with a longing that surprises her. She doesn't want to wait for his eyes to glance back up to hers. She knows she would lose the small bit of courage it took just to draw this close to him.

She doesn't know what to do, but tries to equate the movements to finding the eye of her target with her arrow. She glides forward and presses her lips to Gale's. She tries to be gentle and not attack them but she's afraid she might have come in too fast and too sloppy. He clearly wasn't anticipating it, so she pulls back ever so slightly to give him room that he instantly takes back. Their lips brush and fall back in line, and she makes a surprised noise that coaxes him to press a little firmer, give her lips more pressure, and taste more of her. Butterflies flutter inside her and fill her head with nonsense that her body obeys, like putting her hands on the sides of his body and tilting her head to feel his lips from a different angle.

Apparently his head is spinning too, because he instantly tilts his head the opposite direction, mapping out the different angles of her lips. They're pliable and soft like he imagined. He puts his hands on the sides of her head and draws her closer. His body scoots forward and presses into her ever so slightly.

Katniss' heart is pounding as quick as if she were running through the forest. She had no idea a kiss could consume her like this. _Maybe her classmates weren't so stupid after all._

Gale's hands gently slide down her cheeks and she feels his lips part slightly. She breaks away from him then, afraid of what would lie ahead in a kiss like that. Their eyes lock, questioning each other but not answering. She notices him swallow, hears both of them breathing hard. _Good, it's not just me._

Katniss registers his warm breath fanning her face, and though she doesn't dislike it, she scoots away from the new sensation. She grabs her belongings and stands up. Gale follows her lead and they walk back towards the fence in silence. He knows that's all she can handle tonight, and he hopes it won't push her away from him. He wants to talk to her, but can't find the right words. He knew if he were ever going to kiss her it should be somewhere where he could escape her presence directly after, so he couldn't screw things up with words she doesn't want to hear. Kissing her in the woods was definitely not in his plans, but he smiles as he recalls her leaning in for the kiss. Maybe that's what they needed after all. Maybe it's best _he_ didn't make a move on her.

When the fence is in sight she breaks their silence, "Does this make you _my_ valentine?"

Gale's stomach flutters. _So she's been thinking about their kiss this whole time too..._ "Valentine" is a term that's given to someone special, but only on the Day of Love. Most people who call each other a valentine have already begun a relationship or are at least pledging themselves for the day. He looks at her, hoping his smile doesn't look as sheepish as it feels. "If you want it to." He knows in his heart he's been her valentine all day. He's been hers for a while now, she just doesn't know it yet.

She nods, not ending the suspense with her words. "What does it make me?" she asks, a slight crease forms above her eyes.

"Whatever you want," he answers, mimicking her open ended-ness.

"Oh," she mumbles.

"What?" he asks.

"You already have one, don't you?"

"A valentine?" he asks. Katniss nods.

"I am valentine free this year," he says with a twinkle in his eye.

"So -"

"Katniss?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Will you be my valentine?" he asks, as coolly as he can manage in spite of his heart hammering in his chest.

She stops walking. "Yes," she says as her lips twitch into a smile. "Will you be mine?"

"For as long as you want," he says, not able to hold back a smile. She looks surprised at his statement, but doesn't say anything.

"So-" she says after they've crawled through the fence.

"So?" he teases, intoxicated by the events of the day.

"Do people have second kisses on the Day of Love?" she asks, and then directs her gaze away.

Gale does a double take. He could have sworn he saw a mischievous glint in her eye. "Yes," Gale answers, though he never has before. _I don't plan on waiting a whole year though, _he thinks as he sneaks a peek at the lips of his valentine.


End file.
